Hanging out at the Dairy

Hanging out at the Dairy
Darci(far left) & the Wrights at the Creamery

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

This little piggy went to market...

I love pork! I'll admit it freely and with abandon. I am an omnivore and a happy one at that.

 In order to have such a contented existence though, you MUST have at least one good source for your meats, fish and poultry. Lucky me, I have several friends who fish (mentioned in earlier blog postings), a family who raises grass fed, natural beef and an outstanding butcher dept at Sunny Farms in Sequim. They are a constant source of information and I ask lots of questions on which cuts to use, given what I'd like to accomplish for my meal plan.

Tonight it was thick, bone in pork chops. The plan was to create a rich sauce to blanket my moist pork chops. Brining the meat prior to cooking for 2-24 hours is ideal for moisture retention while cooking. The brined chops were placed a heavy bottomed saute pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, on medium high heat. Thinly sliced sweet onions, fresh chopped garlic and several generous grinds of fresh pepper and sea salt were added to the hot pan.
The chops seared on each side for about 5 minutes. The internal temp should be taken and reach 155 degrees to minimize any anxiety of fully cooking your pork. I use my dial meat thermometer and select the thickest part of the chop to make sure to get the most accurate temperature reading.

After the chops are reach the proper temp, I remove them from the pan to "rest" and finish the sauce. A glug or two of dry white wine was added to the hot pan to deglaze it, releasing all the carmelization from the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Two tablespoons each of Dijon mustard and unsalted farm butter were whisked into the sauce for both depth of flavor and additional silkiness. One tablespoon or so of fresh thyme from my garden were taken off the stems and sprinkled over the reducing sauce. Taste for any salt and/or pepper corrections needed depending on your taste preferences.

My sauce was just what I had wanted! The caramelized onions offset the sweet pork. The thyme added a light, bright contrast to the sharp Dijon and the wine and butter rounded the sauce off perfectly for this foodie's palate. 

Let me know what you think my friends, my fellow omnivores of this pork rendition. I love my pork but I love my butcher dept almost as much!

Here's to good eats!

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